London: The fragile marine ecosystems of Antarctica are facing a growing risk from icebergs floating freely in coastal waters due to global warming, a research has suggested.

A group of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has found that while iceberg scour is a natural phenomenon, the rate of destruction is increasing as a warmer climate shrinks the winter sea ice that would otherwise lock the bergs in.
"The whole balance of the ecosystem could be affected, with consequences that are very difficult to predict,' said Dan Smale, who led the study.

Global warming is one of the biggest issues facing the world today. Some days back eminent environmentalist Suresh Pachouri had expressed concern over melting of glaciers due to global warming and resultant increase in sea level. He opined that the increase in sea level would inundate the habitations close to the seas. Even though the developed countries are also expressing concern over the effects of global warming on the environment, yet they are not taking effective measures to control the situation.

DOWN TO EARTH Sunita Narain / New Delhi July 04, 2008, 0:00 IST We need a way ahead

Washington: There could be a brief time this summer when there is no ice on the North Pole, said a U.S. scientist, blaming global warming that has melted the Arctic ice sheet over decades. "We could have no ice at the North Pole at the end of this summer,' Mark Serreze, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, told AFP. "And the reason here is that the North Pole area right now is covered with very thin ice and this ice we call first year ice, the ice that tends to melt out in the summer.'

The prospect of designating the Arctic region

Author and environmentalist Lester R. Brown tells Nandini Nairour civilisation is at risk Run off Lester Brown (bottom) warns against melting icebergs He might bring doom's day prophecies with him. But he offers solutions as well. Environmentalist Lester R. Brown was in the Capital's Taj Mahal hotel recently for the launch of the Hindi version of his book, "Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilisation' (W.W Norton & Company).

One person was killed and nine others, including five foreign tourists, were injured when a part of the Gaumukh glacier moved and hit these persons near Gaumukh last evening. A team of the Uttarkashi police, forest personnel and rescue workers today reached the spot and carried the injured back to Bhojwasa for treatment. According to Uttarkashi SP Nilesh Anand Bharne, part of the Gaumukh glacier fell on tourists in the area killing a sadhu and injuring four American and one British tourists. Two tourists from West Bengal were also injured.